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Die Softly

Christopher Pike

3.64 · Rating details · 2,732 ratings · 106 reviews

HE MAY HAVE PHOTOGRAPHED A MURDER.

Herb just wanted to photograph the cheerleaders in the school showers. He planted his camera high in the corner where no one could see it, and rigged it to a special homemade timer. He did that Thursday night, and he hoped that by Friday night he would have an exciting roll of film to develop.

But a girl dies Friday afternoon. On the surfac ...more

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Published April 1st 1991 by Turtleback Books

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· 2,732 ratings · 106 reviews

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Dec 19, 2009 Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: a-own-book-form, 4-star, cover-love, childhood-nostalgia, reviewed, young-adult

Christopher Pike generally creates plots that are different enough to enthrall, with his other real strength lying in creating compassionate, genuine characters. In this case we have stumbling, bumbling Herb, being the typical teenage boy in that he's 'horny', yet being unique because of actual tenderness.

Die Softly is one of Pike's darker stories, ending with a twisted finale that leaves one depressed and stunned. There are so many curves in this road it should be blockaded. It never stays stag Christopher Pike generally creates plots that are different enough to enthrall, with his other real strength lying in creating compassionate, genuine characters. In this case we have stumbling, bumbling Herb, being the typical teenage boy in that he's 'horny', yet being unique because of actual tenderness.

Die Softly is one of Pike's darker stories, ending with a twisted finale that leaves one depressed and stunned. There are so many curves in this road it should be blockaded. It never stays stagnant, popping up continuously with new nail-chomping situations. Was the girl he's been in love with for years involved more than she says? Is she being framed by his best friend, jealous of his relationship with her? Did the best friend do it? Is it because of his love's demented, drug addicted friends? Did one of them turn on each other? And what is the deal with his other best friend's brother's car accident a year earlier? You get the picture.

It's one of those novels that starts at the end, with Herb telling it how everything went to hell to a surprisingly amicable detective. From there out it's a mystery where you get a good idea, but just aren't sure. There is an inkling of blood, but suspense isn't focused on. My attention was grabbed and I hated putting it down. The powerful ending wrapped it up perfectly. Bad points? Well, the middle did lag a bit, even if things were happening. Herb was a 'great guy' but the circular actions grew slightly - and I said slightly - tiresome. The beginning could have been sped up also. The dream sequence was useful and did interest, but it went on too long and became stale. My mind drifted a few times, but thankfully in the end Pike's words brought me back home.

Like most of Pike's books, while labeled as young adult, the very grown-up themes shine through. I was left thinking about how far some people go for people they care about, even when they know better. It's not the general story of the protagonist trying to figure out whodunnit before it's too late, but a different animal altogether. A book that leaves me thinking, even if it's depressing, can never be a bad thing. ...more

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May 01, 2017 Bren rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-mystery, thriller-horror, suspense, better-or-worse-than-expected, dark-and-heavy, read-and-reviewed, crime

“He had smoked dope exactly twice, but stopped when he realized it was called dope for a reason.”
― Christopher Pike, Die Softly

This book was seriously creepy and maybe the most gory of all the Pike books I have read. It also is quite different then what I have read from him before but since I have not read everything I cannot speak for all his books.

SPOILERS:

There is alot of violence in this book and some gore. It also has a horrible ending. It is not one of my favorites by Pike but it is worth ...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Donna rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: horror, best-bitten, cheese, library, young-adult

It's not often you get a creeper as the MC whose eyes you read through. But even despite the fact that this guy rigged up a camera to take pictures of his naked classmates, Pike wrote it in such a way that Herb was still an appealing guy. I didn't get skeeved out at all while reading. In fact, I empathized with Herb a little. He was just setting himself up for a stupid prank but he ended up getting handed a lot more.

Pike has an excellent way of teetering guilt from one character to another. You It's not often you get a creeper as the MC whose eyes you read through. But even despite the fact that this guy rigged up a camera to take pictures of his naked classmates, Pike wrote it in such a way that Herb was still an appealing guy. I didn't get skeeved out at all while reading. In fact, I empathized with Herb a little. He was just setting himself up for a stupid prank but he ended up getting handed a lot more.

Pike has an excellent way of teetering guilt from one character to another. You can't tell who's lying, who's being genuine or who has some tracks to cover. Everyone (except Herb) looks guilty. I just love how it's all woven together so seamlessly. Until it was made obvious who the culprit was, I was constantly trying to figure out who was the big bad in this story. And why. Now I'm not the best at these kinds of whodunnit type of stories but I'm able to connect the dots decently enough. But Pike's dots were masterfully all over the place in a kind of organized chaos. I truly think that the truth is hidden so well that not too many people would be able to figure it out until close to the reveal.

The only thing I'd change would be the villain dialogue at the end. It's kind of classic in a cliche sort of way how the villain ultimately suffers from verbal diarrhea and just can't shut their damn mouths, destroy evidence and be done with it. It was a definite unload that I think could have been better worked into the plot but I'm over it. I liked the rest of it too much.

Pike did a great job of keeping all of the characters (except Herb) at arm's length. Each had something about them that I could empathize or sympathize with but each had a motive, just a little hint of guilt that kept me from getting them too close. I had no idea who I could trust. That feeling of unease that Pike created isn't found often, I don't think, and it really made me uncomfortable at times. As do all good creepy thriller books. And don't go in expecting a cookie cutter ending either. Pike is fearless with his characters. No one is safe and he sticks to that.

While it didn't have anything paranormal in it, it still rates pretty high on the creep scale. Good horror doesn't need paranormal elements in it to make it horror. Just amazing writing that makes you uncomfortable and some level of afraid. Die Softly did just that. ...more

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May 20, 2019 Grady Hendrix rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Basically it's Christopher Pike delivering a Brian De Palma movie. ...more

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Sep 19, 2020 Becca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-pikecast

3.5 Pikes, rounded up.

Check out our full thoughts of Die Softly on The PikeCast! Die Softly episode will premiere on October 1!

You can find The PikeCast on both Spotify and Apple, along with:

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Patreon | Goodreads Group ...more

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Sep 19, 2020 Cassie Daley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: the-pikecast

3.5, rounded up! Discussing this one in depth for the premiere episode of The PikeCast, airing October 1st!

Join our Goodreads Group: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ThePikeCast
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thepikecast
...more

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Nov 11, 2012 Roberta R. (Offbeat YA) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, thriller-or-mystery, horror-or-gore, visual-arts-and-crafts, pov-3rd-person, mc-male

Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.

Pros: Believable depiction of a male teen...up to a point. Photography makes for an original plot device.
Cons: Unlikeable characters. Not particularly engaging prose. Some paragraphs could have benefited more editing.
WARNING! Some gruesome deaths. Sex is mentioned/implied; drugs are heavily featured.
Will appeal to: Those who love a classic teen thriller '90s-style...only a lot darker than average.

Well, yes, this isn't one of my favourit Excerpt from my review - originally published at Offbeat YA.

Pros: Believable depiction of a male teen...up to a point. Photography makes for an original plot device.
Cons: Unlikeable characters. Not particularly engaging prose. Some paragraphs could have benefited more editing.
WARNING! Some gruesome deaths. Sex is mentioned/implied; drugs are heavily featured.
Will appeal to: Those who love a classic teen thriller '90s-style...only a lot darker than average.

Well, yes, this isn't one of my favourite Pike books - obviously. I'll state my reasons for that in a moment. But one thing needs to be said in advance...even when YA was still in its infancy, Pike never shunned the darkest angles of human psyche, nor the most gruesome outcomes of human emotions. In a way, this book is mature YA, right because of that. On the other hand, it's still a kid of the '90s, in what it lacks sophistication and conciseness. The best teen novels out there nowadays would never spend pages describing the wiring of a camera to a tape recorder and their location on a ledge, or the development of a roll of film. Not cool ;).
But my main problems with this book are the characters and the tone. I'll get to the characters in a few lines...but I'm starting with the tone. The story is told in third person by Herb, an eighteen year old "nobody" (that's how he thinks of himself) with one single talent - photography. The chapters alternate between the past, when death struck Herb's small clique of friends and acquaintances, and the present ("In the End"), when Herb is on the phone with Sergeant Fitzsimmons, recounting the events. The book ends with an epilogue. Now, Pike's typical style is made of short sentences, on the descriptive side. While it works for his most interesting stories (especially those told in first person), it tends to get a bit dull and simplistic here. I get it that we are in Herb's mind, so the writing style probably mimics his mental processes quite accurately, but it also sets a flat tone on the whole. [...]

Whole review here. ...more

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Oct 17, 2020 Desirai rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: shelf-mastery-2020

Content Warning: Murder, sexual assault, drug use, and fat shaming.

Thanks to the The Pike Cast I'm revisting the YA Horror books which turned me into a reader.

Die Softly was published in 1991. This story begins with Herb Trasker plotting to photograph the cheerleaders in the shower and takes an even more disturbing turn when he ends up capturing a murder.

I laughed a lot while reading this. Sometimes because of the dialogue, sometimes in disbelief. It felt like I was reading a B rated horror fil ...more

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Nov 09, 2017 Carol rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: nostalgia

Well as a teen back in the late 90's and early 2000's I read a ton of Christopher Pike. Now I decided to go back and re-read whatever I could find. I remembered why teen me was so obsessed with these books and they kind of do resemble the adult fiction I read now. Nostalgia has been satisfied! On to The Immortal. ...more

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Aug 21, 2014 Amber rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Another one of my FAVORITE Christopher Pike books. I read this one so many times. The ending was amazing, I loved this book so much.

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Oct 10, 2019 Kolbi rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult-thrillers, 2019

If you're looking for an early 90's, cheesy (in a good way), horror novel, Die Softly by Christopher Pike is sure to deliver. This 248 page book follows 18 year old Herb, a perverted photographer who decides to take naked photos of the cheerleading team without consent (influenced by his friend Sammie, who makes her hatred of the cheerleaders evident in the first few pages). Herb realizes that his "prank" won't go unpunished, he ends up capturing the murder of one of the prettier (and meaner) ch ...more

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Nov 03, 2019 Kirsty rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: for-teenage-scream-podcast

Just re-read this for Teenage Scream podcast (lovingly dissecting the best and worst of 90s teen horror):

https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream ...more

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Mar 01, 2018 Avery rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. WARNING THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS but not in the first and last paragraph

Die softly by Christopher Pike was an interesting book through and through exceeding in great Entertainment and Emotional value but lacking in Literary and Educational value nonetheless. With that, the book is definitely a great independent novel as it succeeds in making one attached to the plot and entertained throughout. With its failure in Educational and Literary value however, this book should stay banned in schoo WARNING THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS but not in the first and last paragraph

Die softly by Christopher Pike was an interesting book through and through exceeding in great Entertainment and Emotional value but lacking in Literary and Educational value nonetheless. With that, the book is definitely a great independent novel as it succeeds in making one attached to the plot and entertained throughout. With its failure in Educational and Literary value however, this book should stay banned in schools because of its explicit scenes, drug use, nudity, and lack of teaching anyone anything useful in the classroom. Before I begin I want to remind everyone once more that there will be spoilers in this review and if you want you can skip to the very last paragraph there will be no spoilers at that exact point.

For entertainment value the book did a great job in keeping me hooked and happy to read more. I could relate to the main character Herb as I love photography and sometimes have allusive dreams like he did in the prologue. The story heavily involved around a photo Herb, an abstracted teenage boy, had taken on the night of Lisa’s death only because “he wanted to take pictures of the cheerleaders” in the girls locker room in order to have nude photos (Pike 12). Though this is very inappropriate, backing me up on why schools shouldn't allow students to read this, it kicks off the story with a bang as Herb ended up taking a photo of the murderer in the act. Once again, for Entertainment value, Die Softly succeeded in keeping me hooked until the end and may provide relatable content to some viewers thus doing good in this category.

For Literary value the book lacked many, if not all, of the qualifications needed to be considered stable in this category. Though it was very interesting with its complex plot the book has not been established as having any artistic qualities for a literary community. Meaning it's not regarded as heavily creative in any way to those who often read books either as a job or in their freetime. Which is most likely the reason why it has also not stood the test of time as before even thinking about reading this book I had never even heard about it to begin with and just trying to purchase the book in general is difficult within itself. So basically meaning the book has been blown to oblivion. As for thematic depth Die Softly was somewhat in the clear. This book can be read from any kind of culture and at anytime whether it be ten to one hundred years in the future. That is so because the book takes place around, what I thought was, the stereotypical “teenage boy with nonexistent self esteem” which many are used to (Pike 13). Nonetheless the book doesn't communicate any artistic manner whatsoever and had no social, political, or ideological impact during the time the author published it. After all of this I can confirm that Die Solfty failed in Literary value as it is considered to not be as creative compared to other books, it has not stood the test of time, it had no impact on the world when it was published, and it has not been recommended for the literary community.

For Emotional value Die Softly actually did somewhat good in some of the areas around this category. I personally think that this book grew on me as by chapter 10 I was practically screaming at Herb to not do certain tasks like help Alexa or confront the person by “hiking directly up the hill” to see who shot Sammie (Pike 176). Still, the book did not present any authentic perspective about cultural, social, or diverse groups as it only focused around a big mystery of who killed Lisa and why. None of which affected the perspective at all. Regarding significance to emotional impact the book prevailed in utterly shocking the reader. Though some may suspect who the murderer is the book still surprises many on the reasons to why and how the murder was committed that “no one had the answer to”(Pike 245). As a murder mystery book Die Softly needed to have an ending that answers all the questions, ties everything together, and do so reasonably. This book clearly did so and will definitely shock anyone as the clues all come together. Don’t even get me started about how Herb ended up dying in the end but also solving his and Lisa’s own murder. If any life lesson came out of Die Softly it is that good looks don’t mean good intentions and that murder is not worth anything. For the Emotional value I believe Die Softly passed in this section because of its emotional impact that will eventually grow on the reader as time goes by and because of the mini life lesson learned at the end.

Finally, for Educational value Die Sofly did the worst in this than any other category. I think this was as to be expected but the book had nothing that could be used to teach a classroom. The only thing taught in this book is how to develop photos for a really outdated camera which is not useful to many if not all people. They even went as far as describing the “three chemicals Herb used to develop photographs”(Pike 95). Discussion wise I think many will love to express their feelings toward certain characters and who they suspect to be the murderer but school wise this book should stay far away from any library shelf as the book constantly mentions drugs use and contains explicit scenes including nudity. All of which are definitely not school appropriate whatsoever. Even right at the start of chapter one the book literary mentions how much Herb wants photos of nude women. So yes Die Softly might keep a discussion afloat but for all the wrong reasons when regarding school appropriate content as it will make some students uncomfortable and the book has nothing to teach in classrooms in the first place.

In the end, I admire Christopher's skill in being able to end the book and tie everything together as neat as he did. Die Softly is something I recommend anyone in reading if you have time to kill but the book still shouldn't be in schools as I have proved. So failing in two out of the four categories this book should get a 2 star rating but because of the great ending I give it a 3 star rating instead. Seriously, if you're a fan of twist endings this is the book for you.
...more

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Jun 26, 2010 Stefani rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classroom-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 04, 2015 Leigh rated it liked it · review of another edition

Teen sex, cocaine, murder, voyeurism... All components of a proper YA novel. ;)

Reading these again in my 30s is extra fun because they take about as much time to get through as a movie adaptation would take to watch. In retrospect, reading these as a young girl probably colored my perception of life a bit.

A fun jaunt down memory lane.

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Oct 30, 2012 Laura marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Sarah & I have decided to rekindle our cheesy teenage reading habits by having a CEFS co-blogger throwback read-a-long of this one.
...more

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May 14, 2017 Kathy rated it liked it · review of another edition

I forgot how gripping Pike was! So good to delve into his mind again.

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Jun 30, 2018 Lou rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: christopher-pike

What the fuck....

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Aug 09, 2018 Tim Ganotis rated it liked it · review of another edition

Revisiting this one from the junior high days. Outrageous then: teens doing coke. Outrageous now: teens using film cameras.

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Aug 10, 2018 Rachael's Reading Corner rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

One of my favorite Christopher Pike books. How is the rating so low?

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Mar 27, 2018 Adian Sheeren rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Personally, I was a huge fan of this book. Christopher Pike effectively portrayed all different kinds of characters. Some how, Pike was able to create the very complex character "Herb Trasker". Herb was your typical high school outcast, with a knack for photography. However, Herb did have a bit of a twisted mind, and he set up his camera to take pictures of naked cheerleaders at school. Despite this, Pike was somehow able to still make Herb appealing to the reader. Additionally, Pike had the str ...more

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Nov 23, 2019 Kali Burks rated it it was ok · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 15, 2018 Lori Kircher rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

5/5 stars. A great, fast read. This book is about Herb, who took a picture of a girl’s locker room and how that picture involved more than what was on the photo. I loved how all the loose ends were tied up nicely and the ending was great; everything came full circle. I loved everything about this book: the plot, characters, setting, the writing, the ending, everything. Some of my favorite scenes are: when Herb and Alexa are at his bedroom toward the end, when Theo saves Herb from Stephen at an i ...more

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Jul 09, 2019 Serena rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Kind of disappointed, won’t lie.
Pike’s books covers (I have a copy with the original cover) are like clickbait before clickbait was a thing. I was lead to believe it would be a fun slasher but was greeted with a murder mystery kinda thing. Which is ok but unfortunately I had a hard time getting invested with this one, which is shocking because usually I adore his work. Idk it seemed slow paced I guess and at parts kinda repetitive. I say skip this one unless you’re out to read all his books or s ...more

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Feb 28, 2019 Aurora Dimitre rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: dear-god, fun-times-man, cheesy-teen-horror, everyone-will-die, february-2019

So this was a fun one. Very twisty and weird. I did really like Theo. I thought he was a super interesting character. Somehow I always end up like, really latching onto a really minor character but this is a seventeen year old alcoholic out to place revenge on whoever caused his older brother's death and like, that's an interesting character concept.

But overall it was an interesting one. Kinda typical Pike, but that's not a bad thing. ...more

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Aug 06, 2019 Heather rated it it was ok · review of another edition

A peeping tom hero, an entire community of people who're up at 4am—and why are all Christopher Pike books thinly veiled anti-drugs, pro-God and pro-gun propaganda?

I read this for our podcast Teenage Scream, which dissects the best (and worst) of 90s Teen Horror.

https://soundcloud.com/teenagescream ...more

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Nov 30, 2019 Tehnehn Kaijaah Edwards rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: christopher-pike

This book is just as good as I remember it. CPIKE is a fantastic and engaging writer. The twists, the turns, the story. It is hands down one of my faves he has written and even though I read it as a teenager the ending still blows my mind. I will that I felt for our antagonist and protagonist at the same time. I sat and read it in like 2 to 3 hours and I regret nothing, So good. I could not stop.

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Dec 24, 2019 Kit rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Guys, it’s Christopher Pike. It’s a five and y’all know it.

I was twelve when I first read this book and it blew my mind 🤣 so it will always be a five star for me, regardless of the writing or plot or terrible depictions of women (you can be a fat loser with a bad haircut or a seductive murderess, but please... no complex, fully developed female characters in Mannville, CA).

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Jun 25, 2020 Johnathon rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Everyone in this book is terrible. I knew that I'd read this one as a kid but couldn't recall anything about it aside from cheerleaders and cocaine. Pike's writing is as compelling as ever, but the narrative isn't all that captivating, and it's difficult to care about anything that happens or anyone it happens to. ...more

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Feb 10, 2019 Farhana rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

THIS BOOK SCARRED ME.

I READ IT WHEN I WAS 12. I AM 21 NOW AND I STILL THINK ABOUT IT.

THIS BOOK SCARRED ME.

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About Christopher Pike

Christopher Pike

4,502 followers

Christopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programm ...more